In the weeks leading up to the Houston Press Music Awards showcase on Sunday, August 4, Rocks Off will be profiling a handful of performers each day, mostly in their own words - part of the best top-to-bottum lineup the showcase has ever had, in our humble opinion. See the showcase schedule and ticket information at HPMusicAwards.com, and watch Twitter (@hprocksoff) every day until the showcase for your chance to win tickets.

To which member are we speaking? What are you nominated for? Elizabeth here, We've been nominated for Best Electronic Act.

Please list all of your regular band members and what instruments they play. The band consists of Mario A. Rodriguez, guitar/bass/drums and vocals extraordinaire; and myself, Elizabeth Salazar, vocals/ keys/synths.

Who is your single biggest musical influence and why? The Beatles, hands down. They somehow knew they were going to be greater than anything else. They are a timeless inspiration for us in countless ways.

What recordings (if any) do you have readily available? We have two collections of music out. One of them is our first self-titled EP that was released February 2012. Our first LP, Red City, was released March 2013. They are both easily accessible on Bandcamp and Soundcloud. Red City is on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, CD Baby and at Cactus Music.

Have you ever been HPMA-nominated before? When and what for? The band has been nominated twice before in 2011 & 2012 for the same category as well as Best New Act.

Where and how often do you perform (publicly) around Houston? We've been fortunate to play wonderful venues in Houston, such as Mango's, Walters, Warehouse Live, and Fitzgerald's. We try to get a show at least once a month.

What is the next step for your band? The next step is to finish a music video and travel to Mexico City and its surrounding areas to perform some shows. If all goes well, we hope to be in Mexico before December and maybe have a small tour in the East Coast by early 2014.

We are also producing new music. These works are a complete change in mood and experience from our latest release. We've been utilizing different techniques in our songwriting. We want more exhilaration and movement, and I believe we've found that.

Finish this sentence: "Houston music is..." Houston music is a hellish fire.